Migrant sex offender given £500 after threat to disrupt deportation | BBC News

A migrant sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison was given a £500 payment after threatening to disrupt his deportation from the UK to Ethiopia, the BBC understands.

Hadush Kebatu was jailed after sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman while living in an asylum hotel in Epping, Essex, but was mistakenly set free by prison staff on Friday and was brought back into custody following a two-day manhunt.

It is understood the payment was a decision made by the removal team, not ministers, and was considered as an alternative to a more expensive process.

Kebatu was not on the government's Facilitated Returns Scheme - for foreign national offenders who agree to leave the UK voluntarily - under which he would have been given £1,500.

Sources said the £500 payment avoided "a slower and more expensive process, which would have included detention, a new flight and potentially fighting subsequent legal claims".

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Post from BBC News on October 29, 2025

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